Lupines are re peaking here. The colorful swathes of purple, pink, blue, and white that we see waiving in fields and along roadsides are Common Lupines (Lupinus polyphyllus).
How they got introduced here remains a mystery, unless you believe the children’s tale about Miss Rumphius sowing Lupine seeds everywhere.
The native wild variety (Lupinus perennis L.) apparently has been extirpated or is extremely rare here. There also are engineered hybrid Lupines for the garden, including blood red ones:
The name of these plants is pronounced “LOU-pin” and it derives from the Latin word for wolf (lupus): the species can be invasive and detrimental to soil. Nonetheless, they’re a beautiful sight from the road or close-up:
(Brooklin, Maine)